Container and method of opening the same.



G. E. ROHMER.

CONTAINER AND METHOD OF OPENING THE SAME. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. 1916.

1,263, 1 1 go Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY GABRIEL E. BOHMER, OF'NEW YORK, N. Y.

CONTAINER AND METHOD OF OPENING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 16, 1918.

' Application filed May 3, 1916. Serial No. 95,015.

To all whom z't may camera:

Be it known that I, GA: RIEL E. RoHMnR, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in New York, borough of Manhattan, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Containers and Methods of Opening the Same, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to contamers and methods of'opening the same, and particularlyto tin cans or'other such receptacles used for the storing of solids and liquid matters, such as foods, paint and the like, and other likesubstances, and provided I with a flanged cover'of a concave surface,

of circular, oval or other suitable shape, and forced into the open end of the container. Heretofore no attempt has been can with easy means made to provide the for removing the top cover when it is desired to open the can, and this has 'usually been done by inserting a thin edged instrument such as a knife or a screw driver between the flange of the cover and the can proper, thereby forcing or pryin the cover off. This method is very ine BGtIVB and impracticable, and in cans of large diameter' because of the tendency of the cover to bend, the cover is usually mutilated to suchan extent before the same is fully removed that it is unfit for further use.

An object of the present invention there fore, is to provide means which will be self contained within the can and adaptedto permit the ready removal of the cover w1th little effort, and in an effectual and pracitical manner, in no way mutilating the can, and in no way affecting the tight connection of the cover with the can. Another object is to provide such a device whlch takes up very little room and will not be such an appendage to the can as to affect its packing in boxes, storing upon shelves,

'etc., incident to'its handling and final disposition. I

With these and other objects view, my

invention is shown in the accompanglilrig y and will be hereinafter more drawings,

with reference thereto, and finally described pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a and container em odying my invent on,

Fig. 2is a side elevation partly 1n section thereof,

lan view of a receptacle Fig. 3 is a plan view of a slightly modi-- fied form of my construction,

Fig. 4 is a side elevatlon partly in sect1on thereof,

Figs. 5 and 6 are side elevations, respectively, partly in section, of two further modified forms of construction.

F 1g. 7 1s a plan view of another form of my invention,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line a-a of Fig. 7,

Fig. 8 vessel form, and

Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view of another form of can, embodying my invention.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Containers of the type in which it is intended to embody my present invention, are provided with a cover comprisingv a flange 1, and a concave circular portion 2. These covers are forced into engagement with the flanged portion 3 at'the top of the container proper, .and have heretofore been opened by inserting a thin edge such as a knife or screw driver in the space a between the cover flange land .the top 3 of the container, and by a lifting action prying the cover off.' This as above pointed out is a is a vertical sectional view of a very inefiicient and impractical operation,

provided with a still further modified ing a coil wire 4 in a circumferential depression or recess 5 which forms a pocket therefor, provided'as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 on the under side of the flanged portion 1 of the cover. This depression is of such depth and engages about the coil wire in such manner as to in no way hamper the closing and tight fit of the cover upon the container, and to pinch the coil wire tightly and firmly so as to prevent it from slipping out at other portions than the one pulled when a-pull is exerted on the wire as herein-- after more fully described,- in other words the wire should release itself gradually from .the recess throughout its peripheral travel as it unwinds, the end not. becoming disengaged'fromthe depression until the full length of wire is extracted. The wire should have a diameter larger than the space a between the cover flange and the top contracted exit for the pocket formed by 110. of the container, the space a forming a Y the recess. This is necessary in order to cause the cover to hft'from the container.

One end of the coil wire 4 protrudes from beneath the cover through the depression 6 in the flange l of the cover, and is formed into the shape of an eye or ring 7, and is bent flat against the side of the can, as clearly shown in the drawings.- The flange 1 of the cover is provided with a' peripheral 10 head 8, which gives a finish to the cover, and also increases its rigidity and resistance against transverse bending strains. In operation the eye end of the wire is bent outwardly so that the same may and the coil is pulled in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 1), the wire being gradually extracted from the depression 5, and because of its greater diameter than the width of the space a, and through the rigidity ofthe cover itself, a lifting action will occur, which being gradually applied to the entire periphery of the can lifts and disengages the top in an'easy and efiectual manner, and with no danger of spilling the contents of the container.

' In Figs. 3 and 4: I show a slightly modified form of construction in which the depression 5 is provided in the flanged portion 5, at the top of the container instead of in the flanged portion of the cover. The op eration is exactly the same as in the first form of my'invention.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown the adapter-- tion of my invention to a slightly modified form of container, in which the flanged up per portion of the container is provided with an annular recess 2, in which an annular ridge 2 of the cover is adapted to be forced. In Fig. 5 I have illustrated the wire in Fig. 6 I have shown the same applied to a recess 5 of the flange of the container proper. v

In the form of constructlon shown in Fig.

7, the wire coil extends three-quarters of the distance around the flange of the cover, the

end 9 of the coil wire being held secure by pinching notches 10 in the flange of the cover. By reason of the rigidity of the p cover, the same will entirely lift itself from the container as the wire is removed. This lifting action of the cover is further facilitated by providing a plurality of peripheral depressions 17 in the head 1 of the cover, thereby reducing the space a between the cover and the body portion, but in no Way hampering the closing action of the top cover. The space 6 between the lower extremity of the depression and the cover is so less than the space a. This form of construction affords an appreciable saving in the length of wire.

In Fig. 8 I have-shown another embodiment of my invention as applied to the lateral periphery of a vessel, such for instance be gripped,-

tending of wire to be used.

coil provided in a recess 5 of the cover, While bent around the wire 4, which is disposed beneath the enlarged upper edge of the bottle. The cap is released as will be obvious, by forcing the sawv tooth portions outwardly upon pulling the wire.

In Fig. 9 I have shown my invention as a new embodiment ofa further modified form 7 of container, especially adapted to the present method of opening. The flanged cover in this embodiment is provided with a ridge '14 which engages beneath the saw tooth portions15, provided on the downwardly exportion 16 of the top of the container. The placing of the wire 4 is otherwise similar to the construction shown in Fig. 3, this of course may be varied as desired to correspond to the other form such for instance as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5.

When the cover is forced off of the container by pulling of the Wire, the saw tooth portions 15 spring open, thereby releasing the ridge 14 from the portion 16 as the saw tooth portions are long enough to be sufficiently flexible to permit this. The present method of removing the cover is essential to the opening of thls form of container. This form of construction insures a very secure and air tight closure, and positively prevents the removal of the cover due to any internal pressure in the container as might 'be caused in such containers Containing preserved vegetables or fruit which are subjected to a boilin process.

- I do not wish 0' limit myself to the type Such could be annealed soft wire, or spring wire, and for cansof large diameter, a wine cable could be used preferably, or if desired, a suitable cord or rope could be used.

I have illustrated preferred and satisfactory forms of my invention, but it is obvious that changes maybe made therein within the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An improved receptacle comprising a body portion, a cover adapted to be frictionally engaged therewith, the said cover and body portion being provided with coiiperative flanges non-frictionally adjacent to each other, both of said flanges extending laterally outwardly from the axis of the can, and means inserted between said flanges adapted to disengage said cover from said body portion upon the extraction of said means from between the flanges of said body portion and cover.

2. An improved receptacle, comprising a body portion, a cover adapted to be frictionally engaged therewith, said cover and body portion being provided with cooperative flanges non-frictionally adjacent to each other, both of said flanges extendingiatefl ally-outwardly from the axis of the can, one of said flanges being provided with-a recess,

a coil of Wire disposed in said recess, one end of said wire extending exterior-ally of said receptacle.

3. An improved receptacle, comprising a body portion, a cover adapted to be frictionally engaged therewith, said cover and body portion being'provided with cooperative flanges non-frictionally adjacent to each other, both of said flanges extending laterally outwardly from the axis of the can, one

of said flanges'being provided with a recess, a coil of wire disposed in said recess between the flanges, said wire being of greater diameter than the space between said flanges exterior of said wire, oneend of the Wire extending exterior of said receptacle, the other end being fastened at said flanged recess.

-l=. In a receptacle having a body portion with an inwardly extending flange at the open end of the body portion and with a downwardly extending flange at the end of the inwardly extending flange, and having 5. In combination, an open end container portion, a cover therefor, said container portion and cover being provided with adjacent surfaces forming a pocket having a contracted exit, said pocket and contracted exit being disposed transversely to the axis of said container, and a member disposed in said pocket of greater diameter than the width of said contracted exit, said member having its main surface unattached and adapted to be readily removed transversely to the axisvof said container through said contracted exit, and during removal to create a lifting force on said cover.

6. An improved receptacle, comprising a body portion, a flange at the open end of said .--portion, a cover adapted to be frictionallyenga ed with the body portion, a flange on sa-i cover parallel and nonfrictionally adjacent tothe flange at the end of the body portion, one of said flanges having inside step depressions and being provided with a recess, and a coil wire disposed in said recess between the flanges, said wire being of greater diameter than the space between said flanges, one end'of the wire extending exterior of said receptacle and terminated by. a loop, the other end being fas-m tened to the said flange recess.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GABRIEL E. ROHMER.

\Vitnesses D. LEWIS MATTERN, Mon WEINBERG. 

